News analysis: Hopes and vague promises didn't fly with Bush administration courts, or even two years ago. But here we go again.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

January 27, 2014.

Will the fifth time be the charm? Probably not.

The federal government has just come out with a new biological opinion (BiOp) on how to conduct the operations of its Columbia River system dams. The feds have been issuing Columbia River BiOps since Bill Clinton sat — and did whatever else he did — in the White House. And for all that time, the federal courts have been slapping them down.

The newest version was unveiled on January 17. It looks remarkably similar to the last one, which was prepared by the administration of George W. Bush and repackaged with little substantive change by Obama officials. United States District Judge James Redden rejected that Bush-Obama hybrid document in 2011.

If history provides a guide, this new BiOp will soon be the target of litigation by conservation groups and it, too, will eventually be tossed out by the courts. “Unfortunately,” said Save Our Wild Salmon executive director Joseph Bogaard in a press release, "this latest blueprint is virtually indistinguishable from the plan rejected by the district court in 2011."

On Monday afternoon, a team of facilitators from Portland State University and the University of Washington issued a report, commissioned earlier this year by NOAA Fisheries, regarding regional perspectives on long-term salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin, and on the potential for collaborative processes around shared salmon solutions. The report summarizes and synthesizes the themes and ideas that emerged from interviews with more than 200 stakeholders across the Northwest. Below is a statement by Save Our Wild Salmon executive director Joseph Bogaard on the final Assessment Report.

“We welcome this report and thank the Assessment Team at Oregon Consensus and the William D. Ruckelshaus Center for its hard work, expertise and professionalism in preparing it. The issue it addresses – the future of Columbia Basin salmon recovery – is one of tremendous importance and scope, affecting virtually every Northwest resident.

“This Assessment Report confirms that Northwest people are ready and eager to collaborate in pursuit of durable solutions to the linked challenges of salmon restoration, energy production, transportation and water use. Our Northwest governors, working alongside other elected leaders and federal agencies, are uniquely positioned to convene and lead such a collaboration.

“An authentic collaborative stakeholder process can end the harmful uncertainty facing river- and salmon-dependent businesses and communities, energy producers and consumers, and the survival of the Columbia Basin's iconic endangered wild salmon. The Assessment Report reflects the regionwide desire for enduring solutions on salmon, energy, agriculture and transportation; multi-party collaboration is our best opportunity for getting there.

“We urge our Northwest leaders to seize this opportunity to bring citizens together to solve one of the Columbia Basin’s greatest and longest-running challenges. And we urge our federal agencies – NOAA Fisheries, Bonneville Power Administration and others – to avoid yet another round of litigation by producing a legal and science-based salmon plan next month that lays the foundation for a successful stakeholder collaboration.”

Portland – Today Northwest conservation groups called on the U.S. Department of State to continue to move forward with modernizing the Columbia River Treaty. The Bonneville Power Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers have reviewed and gathered regional input on the Columbia River Treaty to advise the State Department on the treaty’s future after 2024. On Friday, October 25, the public comment period closed for the draft of the regional recommendation.

Portland, Ore. – Today, the Obama administration’s NOAA Fisheries released a “new” draft plan for protecting endangered Columbia and Snake River salmon that fails to address the issues that triggered federal-court rejection of the three previous plans. If finalized as is, this plan risks continued legal battles just as momentum is building for a broadly supported solutions process.

The government's final plan must be submitted by the end of the year to meet a court-ordered deadline.

“Unfortunately, the latest blueprint barely changes the plan rejected by the district court in 2011, despite that court’s clear direction that federal agencies must do more to safeguard imperiled salmon and steelhead,” said Save Our Wild Salmon executive director Joseph Bogaard.

Conservation and fishing groups, along with the State of Oregon and Nez Perce Tribe, have successfully challenged previous salmon plans for failing to protect one of the Northwest’s most iconic and treasured species. The groups expressed disappointment with the new draft plan, and about the missed opportunity to change course for salmon in the Columbia Basin.

“Today’s plan squanders three big opportunities: to help salmon, to boost salmon jobs, and to lay the foundation for a broadly-supported collaboration among fishermen, farmers, energy users, and others who want to work toward shared solutions,” said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “This latest draft threatens to continue the deadlock over Columbia and Snake salmon by failing to include the stronger protections that our salmon need and that the law requires. The federal agencies really fall short here, but they still have a chance to get it right in the final plan.”

The opportunity for progress centers on salmon spill – water sent over the dams to help migrating young salmon reach the Pacific Ocean more safely. A basic level of spill has been in place under court order since 2006. Federal, state and Tribal scientists have studied the impacts of existing spill and concluded that it is boosting salmon survival. These scientists say expanding spill could help stabilize or maybe even recover some salmon stocks. But instead of considering this in its draft plan, NOAA Fisheries would allow dam operators to roll back current spill to even lower levels, rejecting sound science in the process.

“A 16-year study indicates that spill is the most effective immediate measure to increase salmon survival across their life-cycle,” said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association executive director Liz Hamilton. “The court-ordered spill in place since 2006 has been good for juvenile salmon on their way to the ocean, producing more adult fish back to the river, which has in turn helped salmon businesses and the jobs they support. Based upon extensive analyses, we are convinced that salmon managers need to test higher levels of spill to further increase adult returns. Testing expanded spill is consistent with implementation of adaptive management and should be the centerpiece of any credible salmon plan. Instead, NOAA appears to be ignoring this important information and allowing for less spill during a critical time for Endangered Species Act-listed fish.”

Bill Arthur, deputy national field director for the Sierra Club, said the government’s “Groundhog Day” approach to Columbia salmon restoration is getting old.

“Rather than repackaging a failed and illegal plan and hoping for a different outcome, NOAA Fisheries should rethink and redo its approach in the final plan,” Arthur said. “Expanding spill and employing other effective measures will help salmon, help salmon economies, and give regional collaboration a running start – all of which will help the Northwest move away from gridlock and toward real solutions that work.”

70 Degrees Or More For 24-45 Straight Days in the Columbia and Snake Rivers

Memo to Northwest writers, reporters, editorialists, and columnists

As of September 1, river temperatures at all four lower Columbia River dams have been 70 degrees or above for 24 straight days. At the middle two of those dams – The Dalles and John Day – it’s been 39 straight days. At Ice Harbor Dam, the Snake River dam closest to the Columbia, it’s been 45 straight days.

The story is monotonous - and somber. Together the four lower Snake and four lower Columbia dams impound about 400 consecutive miles of river. Total 2013 readings of 70 degrees or more in these 400 miles are now nearly triple the number in 2012. Last year, the great bulk of 70-plus readings were in August. This year, 70-plus readings began in mid-July and have now stretched continuously into September.

At week’s end, August 25, river temperatures at John Day Dam have been above 72 degrees five straight days, and on August 22 reached 72.7 degrees, the highest reading of 2013. Temperatures at The Dalles and John Day Dams have been 70 F or higher for 32 straight days, and above 70 F at all four mainstem Columbia dams 17 straight days. At Ice Harbor Dam on the Snake River, temperatures have been above 70 F for 38 straight days. These month-long hot water temperatures are disrupting salmon and steelhead migrations. This week’s specifics:

On September 9, the federal government will release its fourth attempt since 2000 at a lawful plan to protect and help restore Columbia and Snake River salmon. The previous three plans have been ruled illegal in federal court. How the pending plan responds to rising river temperatures and other harmful effects of climate change is a main indicator of its scientific soundness and legality. Our weekly reports make clear that hot water is not a future problem for salmon and people. Hot water is a problem today.

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Save Our wild Salmon is a diverse, nationwide coalition working together to restore wild salmon and steelhead to the rivers, streams and marine waters of the Pacific Northwest for the benefit of our region's ecology, economy and culture.